title: Can lemon juice be an alternative to potassium citrate in the treatment of urinary calcium stones in patients with hypocitraturia? A prospective randomized study.
abstract: To investigate that lemon juice could be an alternative to potassium citrate in the treatment of urinary calcium stones in patients with hypocitraturia, 30 patients with hypocitraturic urinary calcium stones were enrolled into study. The patients were divided into three groups equally. Exactly 60 mEq/day fresh lemon juice ( approximately 85 cc/day) and potassium citrate (60 mEq/day) were given to the patients of first and second group, respectively. Dietary recommendations were made for the third group. Blood and 24-h urine tests were performed before treatment and repeated 3 months later. The differences between demographic datas of groups were not significant. There was no significant difference between values of blood tests performed before and after treatment in all groups. Statistically significant differences were found between pre- and post-treatment urine values in each group. Although there was no significant difference between pre-treatment citrate levels of the groups. A significant difference was found between post-treatment citrate levels of the groups. There was 2.5-, 3.5- and 0.8-fold increase in urinary citrate level of lemon juice, potassium citrate and dietary recommendation groups, respectively. Urinary calcium level was decreased only in lemon juice and potassium citrate groups after treatment. While there was no significant difference between pre- and post-treatment urinary oxalate levels in all groups, a significant decrease in urinary uric acid levels was determined in all groups. We suggest that lemon juice can be an alternative in the treatment of urinary calcium stones in patients with hypocitraturia. Additionally, dietary recommendations can increase effectiveness of the treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Bakirkoy Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. keskinaras@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bekir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aras
authors.forename: Nadir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalfazade
authors.forename: Volkan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tuğcu
authors.forename: Eray
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kemahli
authors.forename: Bedi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ozbay
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Polat
authors.forename: Ali Ihsan
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Taşçi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001628:Beverages; D002129:Calcium Oxalate / Q000378:metabolism*; D002951:Citrates / Q000652:urine*; D002957:Citrus; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019357:Potassium Citrate / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014545:Urinary Calculi / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D002129:Calcium Oxalate; D019357:Potassium Citrate